In a study of similar design, a Bench Press 1-RM was performed after just a warm-up, 2 plyometric push ups, or 2 med ball chest passes [6].

RESULTS – AFTER WARM-UP ONLY: 120.9 ± 23.2 kg

RESULTS – AFTER 2 PLYOMETRIC PUSH UPS: 123.8 ± 23.5 kg

RESULTS – AFTER 2 MED BALL CHEST PASSES: 124.0 ± 24.1 kg

POTENTIATE – DON’T FATIGUE

PAP is meant to increase performance. However, any PAP activity will incur fatigue. Fatiguing muscular contractions impair performance [7-8]. This does the opposite of what we want. There are a few ways to circumvent this:

Allow time for fatigue to subside before training or testing

Ensure PAP activities are low repetition (no more than 5 reps on most exercises)

Ensure PAP activities are low in set number (no more than 3 sets on most exercises)

Following these guidelines will ensure that fatigue has subsided while the potentiation effect stays in place.

Jumping higher and getting stronger takes time, but with Post-Activation Potentiation you can increase performance immediately, every single day. Here’s videos of PAP options before training to increase strength and vertical jump height: